Dominate the ancient academy

Chapter 182 Winter Hunting

Shu Xiaoxiao went over to talk to them about some precautions for winter hunting.

Only then did they realize that people like them were just there to make up the numbers during the winter hunt. As for the limelight, it would mainly be the princes, some princes, and generals who were much better than them, and in the future it would be the students like them who were neither familiar with them.

They don't have to pay special attention to anything when they go there. Their family will introduce them to some uncles, friends of similar age, etc. They just need to smile, nod and say hello, and they can play by themselves the rest of the time.

Because they are not old enough, they mostly hunt small animals such as rabbits and pheasants in the periphery. Of course, it is a different matter if someone is willing to take them with them.

These students are divided into students from the Imperial College and students from other academies. They often compete with each other secretly. Most of the students from the Imperial College can meet the requirements for participating in hunting.

The Yuren Academy was far behind. The number of people who could participate in the hunting was less than half of that of the Imperial College. Since they were not at an advantage in numbers, they would still win the battle. If they practiced more before the hunting, they might be able to turn the tables. Of course, this kind of competition of theirs was something that could only be understood but not expressed in words, and it was not brought to the fore.

Regardless of whether they can hunt prey or not, they can eat and drink well on the hunting ground. The thing that is most abundant on the hunting ground is prey. There will be skilled chefs to marinate and grill it, so they can also satisfy their appetite.

In conclusion, their responsibility is to get to know people, and it would be even better if they can make an impression on the emperor, but this is not mandatory. The rest is to eat, drink and have fun with the new friends.

"I thought you were competing for the prize?" Shu Xiaoxiao sighed.

When she was watching TV before, she saw that young men who were good at riding and shooting could win the emperor's prize, and she had been thinking of letting her third brother give it a try.

Now that I think about it, there are so many princes and grandchildren, and young generals fighting with each other, so how could it be the turn of these young boys like them?

They just went there to expand their network.

"It's not our turn to win the prize. I'll be satisfied as long as we can put down the arrogance of those people in the Imperial College. Last year, they were lucky enough to kill a wolf, but their head was so proud in front of us. This time, we must at least hunt a wolf, or an elk or roe deer will also be fine." Zhou Hekang explained.

Their current target is those people in the Imperial College. As for the Emperor's prize, they will have to wait two years before competing for it. Considering his family background, he can still try hard for this prize.

Shen Guanqing thought of Ye Xiao's accuracy in archery and sincerely invited him, "Would you like to join us? If we are lucky, we can kill a tiger or a lion and make a big splash, angering those people in the Imperial College to death."

Shu Xiaoxiao twitched her lips. They were quite ambitious. "This is my first time participating. I just want to hunt some rabbits, pheasants, etc. to satisfy my craving. If you don't mind that I can't help, I'll join you."

Shen Guanqing said indifferently: "Why should we be disgusted? We are not that powerful. We can call your third brother and Su Shiche to hunt together. If we are lucky, we may be able to hunt a big one."

"We originally thought you would follow Prince Yun, so we didn't invite you before. Don't worry, we are just outside, and there are so many of us, there won't be any danger."

Shen Guanqing explained that when they arrived at the hunting ground, their father at home had no time to accompany them, so they all found someone to go with them. With someone following them, there would be no danger, but they would not be able to hunt large prey.

Upon hearing this, Shu Xiaoxiao agreed immediately. Senior Brother Yun would definitely participate in the hunting competition. Those around him were all of high status. She didn't want her to just recognize and pay respects to them. That would be a waste of time. It would be more comfortable for her to be with Shen Guanqing and the others.

The winter hunting began soon. They received the notice in advance and returned to the mansion from the academy first, and then arrived at the hunting ground with their family members and the emperor's carriage.

Even though Shu Xiaoxiao was sitting in the carriage, she could still feel their magnificent team. The emperor led hundreds of civil and military officials, concubines, royal family members, rows of soldiers riding tall horses, gorgeous and luxurious carriages, and the mighty soldiers around them holding spears, marching straight and solemnly. With the colorful flags, the whole team looked warm and solemn.

However, Shu Xiaoxiao thought of her classmates who were still studying in the academy. She sat in the carriage and looked at the neat and solemn team outside. She suddenly deeply understood the gap between the rich and the poor, and the chasm between the poor and the rich.

They were obviously the same age during this winter hunt, and even studied in the same school, but their environments were different.

Even if they cannot achieve any impressive rankings by participating in this winter hunt, they can show their faces in front of the emperor and all the civil and military officials. Once they become familiar with them, everything will be much easier to do, not to mention the advantages of their original identities.

Just like the modern college entrance examination, although it is relatively fair, people with resources and connections are more likely to succeed. When in school, so many classmates feel the same, but after graduation, you will find that the gap between people is simply shocking.

Even if a poor family has a son who is noble, it is difficult for him to catch up with those people. The leap between the ladders often requires the efforts of several generations.

This is how the world is. Sometimes it feels like the world is full of love, hope and warmth; sometimes it feels so strange and cold, making you feel that in such a big world, there is no place that makes you feel at ease.

Fortunately, she was born into a good family in this life, with a rich material foundation. She does not have to struggle for life, can choose the lifestyle she likes, does not have to rush for food and clothing, and has an extra life of memories, so she can live more clearly and comfortably.

This is enough!

Shu Xiaoxiao's sentimentality gradually faded away as she got closer to the hunting ground. Why bother about the sadness of the passing of time when she could enjoy herself? This world was not something she could change, so she just had to live her own life.

As for other people, everyone has his own path to follow and his own goals to achieve. There is no need for a Virgin Mary to save everyone in the world because it is unrealistic.

After getting off the carriage, Shu Xiaoxiao found that the tents, platforms and other things had been built, and all the necessary things were ready, so she could move in directly.

Yes, this was the emperor's trip, so naturally everything had been arranged in advance. No one would let the emperor come and wait for them to set up.

This time, only she, her eldest brother and her third brother came to the general's mansion. Originally, her eldest sister-in-law wanted to come to accompany her, but considering that she was now dressed as a man, she didn't let her sister-in-law come. It would be a waste of time to come in such a cold day. She had already stayed in the academy and was still afraid of a small winter hunt.

The only pity is that Zhenzhu didn't come with her. She brought a maid who knew her identity. Unfortunately, this maid didn't have the fighting ability of Zhenzhu, which made her feel very insecure.

I heard that accidents are very likely to happen in such large-scale activities, so she must protect herself. Dabai has to make an appearance this time, so she has to protect herself. If conditions permit, she can watch the show, but she must not get involved in any gossip. Without Zhenzhu by her side, her mediocre kung fu has no deterrent effect. She deliberately put a lot of medicine powder on her body. As long as someone dares to cause trouble for her, congratulations, he has won a prize, and a big gift package is waiting for him.

The tent in the general's mansion is easy to find. I don't know how the tents are divided from the outside, but there are two tents in the general's mansion, one for the eldest brother and the third brother, and she has one alone.

Originally, Shu Xiaoxiao thought that it was just a temporary tent, just to be able to live in it, and she didn't have high requirements. However, when she came in, she found that there were tables, chairs, beds, tea, pastries, and even the charcoal basin was emitting heat, which made people feel warm as soon as they came in.

Tsk, this is worthy of being a royal product.

After sending them to the tent, eldest brother Shu Tingyu left. These officials couldn't just rest when they arrived. They also had to see where they needed to arrange things, or if the emperor had any instructions, so they were busy.

Shu Xiaoxiao lay in bed for a few minutes and drank a cup of hot tea. When she felt enough, she went next door to call her third brother to go out for a walk. Shouldn't she go for a walk since it was her first time here?

There were many tents outside and many people coming and going. Although there were sounds of conversation, it was not noisy and messy. The busy guards and palace maids were in order. But it was also true that where the emperor was sitting, how many people dared to make noise and chaos!

Although they had just arrived, many young boys and girls came out for a walk in groups. Laughter could be heard from time to time as they chatted, adding a touch of vitality to this winter.

She originally thought that she was the only one out strolling around, but there were actually quite a few people there, but they were all young people. The officials should have come to show their courtesy to the emperor or to sign in.

Most of the people they saw coming out were young people, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. Most of them knew the two of them, so they just nodded, smiled, and said hello and walked away, until they saw Shen Guanqing, Su Shiche and others.

Opposite them were a few young men of similar appearance. The two sides stood facing each other. There was no sound, but the atmosphere was filled with smoke.

It might be because they had just arrived at the hunting ground and were afraid to cause trouble. The looks on the faces of the people on both sides clearly showed that they had experienced hundreds of fights, but no one took action. Their main strategy was to not move unless the enemy moved.

Shu Xiaoxiao was also speechless. Don’t these people find it cold?

She walked up to him and shouted, "What are you standing here for? Are you comparing your eyes? Let's go."

Several people followed and left. The people on the other side did not react. Shu Xiaoxiao asked, "Are those from the Imperial College? Why are you standing there staring at each other?"

"They are from the Imperial College. We didn't expect to run into them as soon as we came out. They just issued a challenge to see who can hunt bigger prey." Su Shiche explained.

"You two are quite polite, I thought you would have a quarrel if not a fight when you met."

Zhou Hekang directly refuted: "No, although there are frictions between our academies, it is not a big deal. The more serious ones are mostly personal grudges. Besides, my father told us when he came here that if we dare to cause trouble here, his legs will be broken."

Somehow something happened this year. In previous years, there was always autumn hunting, but this year, right after the autumn hunting, winter hunting was suddenly added. His father was worried that there might be some changes in the court, so when he came, he warned him that if he dared to cause trouble, his legs would be broken.

I guess the same instructions were given to other people. Before the emperor's intentions are clear, anyone who dares to cause trouble will be punished.

Shu Xiaoxiao understood. They didn't have any major grudges. They just had different positions. Just like Tsinghua University and Peking University always wanted to be first or second, if for nothing else, just to prove themselves.

"Okay, it's so cold in your country, the animals are all hibernating, how can we still hunt?" Isn't hunting only in autumn? It's the harvest season, she really didn't know that hunting can also be done in winter.

"Of course there are. This hunting ground is specially used for hunting by the royal family. There are many animals in it, and before hunting, there will be people who release them into the ground, so there will be no situation where there is no prey."

"Yes, and hunting in winter is more convenient. It is easier for us to find animal tracks in the snow. Those animals are not as agile as in autumn, and it is not easy for us to lose them."

Several people thought of the first time Shu Xiaoxiao talked to him at once about what kind of prey was easy to catch, what kind of prey tasted good, and how to find the traces of prey, and her explanation was very detailed.

Shu Xiaoxiao nodded in sudden enlightenment. Through the techniques they talked about, she now felt incredibly strong and wanted to put them into practice immediately.

Unfortunately, the hunting had not started yet, and they were hungry, so they discussed and decided to go to the cooking place and have a good meal first.

Originally, they were planning to have the food delivered over, but Shu Xiaoxiao felt that she couldn't order food here because she didn't know what was available. Since they were already here, she decided to just go over and see what was available and choose by themselves.

After a few people discussed it, they decided to go over and take a look since there was nothing else to do.

The cooking area is also filled with tents, large pots, and various grills. As soon as you get there, the strong aroma hits you immediately.

Frying, stir-frying, cooking, deep-frying, boiling and stewing are all available. Even though it is outside, Shu Xiaoxiao swallowed uncontrollably.

The eunuch in charge of meals saw a few people and came over to them in a dignified manner to ask what they wanted. The people in the palace had the confidence to do so.

The few people explained their purpose and said that coming here to have a meal was just a small matter. Although he didn't know what their hobbies were and why they liked to come to the kitchen to eat, as a eunuch in charge, he would not offend these young masters because of such a small matter.

Since these young masters did not mind, he naturally would not object. This was prepared for those who participated in the hunting. It didn't matter whether they ate it in the morning or in the evening or wherever they ate. Two tables were set up next to it, and the food was placed on their tables in a short while.

It was their first time to order food standing in the kitchen, so it was still a bit new. Shu Xiaoxiao looked at the table of delicious food and was very satisfied. It was steaming hot right out of the pot. It was not so hot at the banquet and did not taste so good.

She also attended two banquets, where eating and drinking were just part of the meal. During such a long journey, the dishes were only half hot when they were served, and during the time they spent chatting, they could only eat cold dishes.

Looking at this freshly cooked dish, it’s so pleasing to the eye.

The manager is very generous, so you can't be stingy. Just give the manager two of the silver notes you have on you. We'll be hunting for several days, so if you want to build a good relationship with him, he may even come over for a meal.

The manager looked at the silver bills in his hand and felt even more satisfied. He then served them a large bowl of fragrant meat soup, which instantly made Shu Xiaoxiao feel that the silver bills were not wasted.